User reviews

"One Year in a Life of Crime" is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most harrowing documentaries I have ever seen. Essentially, the documentary follows three petty criminals in Newark, New Jersey going about their daily routines. Director Jon Alpert follows Freddie, Robert and Deliris in an almost casual approach to their crimes. In 1989, Jon Alpert would release "One Year in a Life of Crime" on HBO, in 1998 he would follow it up with "Life of Crime 2" and in 2021 he would wrap it up with "Life of Crime: 1984-2020". The series is very much reminiscent of Michael Apted's "7 Up" series, and very much a real life "Requiem for a Dream".

I am a very much a fan of documentaries that explore social, economic and cultural issues. These documentaries are harrowing and brutal to watch but ultimately are a must watch for anyone who would like to observe human nature at its most fallible. As you would expect with the subject matter, this is a very bleak watch, it would be like looking into the sun without going blind. I was just so consumed. What I admire the most about how this documentary is presented, is that there are no punches pulled, it doesn't try to sugar coat the circumstances in which the individuals find themselves in. We examine their hellish existence, they explain how they reached this point, either through impoverishment, addiction, tragedy, or a mixture of all. It is very much like one of those great documentaries where I feel like I am seeing things I shouldn't really be seeing, and at the same time I am seeing things I really need to see.

Sixteen years ago when "One Year in the Life of Crime" came out I remember being shocked that the movie industry would allow a film so gritty and real to come out. This is a true anti-drug film. If you haven't already used this will make you think twice (if you've got a brain). Having thirty years of heroin addiction behind me (in recovery now, but not then) "One Year" shows some of the heartache, loss, sadness & emptiness many addicts feel each day. The only time happiness is fleetingly felt is on the way home from the dealer and even that can be thwarted by the police. The film shows the daily lives of three main characters: Freddy, Rob and Mike and the people in their circle of life. Although Mike seems to be more of an alcoholic than a drug addict he is the only one I didn't feel a connection to. That has more to do with his beating his pregnant girlfriend and taking all her money for his own. His addiction is separate from him being a creep and a scumbag. I truly came to like Freddy and Rob and it was much easier to look past their imperfections and shortcomings than it was Mike's. Anyone looking for "real" TV should come here. You will come away much the wiser about addiction and what it does to a person each day. When Part 2 came out I was surprised both Freddy and Rob were still alive(Rob died July 5th,2002). The deterioration of their lives was immediately apparent. It saddened me but that is how "the life" is. See both.

If you think reality TV is interesting (i.e. American Idol, Survivor, etc.) then you haven't seen anything yet. 'One Year in a Life of Crime' goes behind the scenes in the lives of some small time crooks / drug users, and their friends and families. The subjects must have been paid to allow such cooperation and such access to accompany them in everything they do. We and the cameraman go with them as they pack up bags with stolen goods and take them right out of the store. We ride with them as they leave the kids behind and drive down the block to shoot up or get high. We're there as one of them slaps his pregnant girlfriend around. As strong as this content is none of it is gratuitous. This is life the way these people live it. They bum money off of friends and family, live wherever they can, they have ups and downs, but their basic attitude towards life, and being trapped by drug habits, keeps putting them back behind the eight ball (no pun). One of them, Rob, gets a job watching a used car lot and he can live on the premises. He goes out for the night and leaves the lot unattended, and cars are stolen so he loses his job. Freddie is a junkie and a friend of Rob's, joining him in stealing and drug use; at the end of part 2 (more later) he finds out he is now HIV positive from sharing needles. Freddie's girlfriend Deliris is addicted to various drugs and has lost custody of her own children. She shoots up and then becomes agitated; we are with her as she walks around in the rain compulsively looking for lost money on the ground. It is heartbreaking to see her school photos, of a young and healthy-looking woman who has now turned into this wreck of a person. Mike is a young tough who thinks he has the answer to everything but he ends up jumping bail and going to jail after hiding out trying to avoid being caught. These are some sad, pathetic people who are taking their lives and actively throwing them away. Watching this program and seeing just how some people live, makes you realize how dangerous and easy it is to become hooked on drugs and waste your life. At the end of the second program (there was a second part made some years later than the first) we see Rob back on the streets, buying drugs and stumbling around until he completely passes out in a vacant lot among some trash. Someone at the scene is saying 'there's Rob, he's probably going to die right here one of these days.' I guess from what another reviewer said, that is what happened. Chances are the only one of these people who is still alive is Mike, and that is because he spent a lot of time in jail before he managed to ruin his health with drugs. The others, I would guess, have all passed on based on their habits and condition several years ago already.

This program is a chilling view of a life none us would want to live, but which is day to day reality for far too many people. It is worth a watch just to know what that kind of life is like.

this is a heartbreaking documentary about the downfalls of drug abuse. if you ever have a chance to watch it you should. everyone i know that has seen it really feels an attachment to the people the documentary follows. even 16 years later, people still talk about it. i really think they should show it in schools to show the kids the reality of the dangers of drug addiction. there is a part 2 to this documentary also. i can't understand why they are never shown on TV.

to the people who made it...you did a wonderful job.

to the people who star in it...i hope that you are doing well, and

that you find a way to get away from your addictions.

to the children involved...i hope you can take the first hand

experiences you have had with the madness of drugs, and use it to stop

others from the same fate. i know you are all grown up now, and i

hope you are doing well, i wish you every happiness.